Belfort finishes Bisping at UFC on FX 7

Published on Monday, 1/21/13, at 5:30 p.m. Eastern.

By Brian Edwards

Much of the pre-fight discussion surrounding Saturday’s main event at UFC on FX 7 in Brazil centered around the possibility of Michael ‘The Count’ Bisping getting a shot at Anderson Silva’s middleweight strap with a win over Vitor ‘The Phenom’ Belfort.

The chatter ended up being irrelevant when Belfort finished Bisping with a left head kick in the second round. Bettors backing Belfort cashed tickets in this pick ’em matchup (-115 both ways at most spots).

Gamblers backing the total (2.5 rounds) to go ‘under’ were able to cash winning tickets.

After the victory, Belfort surprisingly pleaded with Dana White and Co. to get rid of Chael Sonnen to allow Belfort a rematch with Jon Jones in the 205-pound loop at UFC 159. Remember, Belfort was the first fighter to ever offer Jones any semblance of a challenge at UFC 152, nearly winning the belt with a first-round armbar. Jones refused to tap, wiggled out of the arm bar and garnered a fourth-round submission.

In a heavyweight clash, Gabriel Gonzaga improved to 2-0 since returning to the promotion by submitting ‘Big’ Ben Rothwell in the second round. Rothwell was coming off an impressive first-round KO of Brendan Schaub.

UFC fans won’t have to wait long for the next event as the promotion heads to Chicago this weekend for UFC on Fox 6. BE Sports will have more on this card later in the week, but let’s briefly mention now that my favorite fight for this event isn’t the main or co-main event.

The best fight will be in the lightweight division when Donald ‘Cowboy’ Cerrone takes on Anthony ‘Showtime’ Pettis. Most books have Pettis as a short ‘chalk’ at -120 or -125. This match has Fight of the Night written all over it.